Exclude debug JavaScript code during minification

Question

I\'m looking into different ways to minify my JavaScript code including the regular JSMin, Packer, and YUI solutions. I\'m really interested in the new Google Closure Compil

Answer 1

If you use the Closure Compiler in Advanced mode, you can do something like:

if (DEBUG) console.log = function() {}

Then the compiler will remove all your console.log calls. Of course you need to --define the variable DEBUG in the command line.

However, this is only for Advanced mode. If you are using Simple mode, you'll need to run a preprocessor on your source file.

Why not consider the Dojo Toolkit? It has built-in comment-based pragma's to include/exclude sections of code based on a build. Plus, it is compatible with the Closure Compiler in Advanced mode (see link below)!

http://dojo-toolkit.33424.n3.nabble.com/file/n2636749/Using_the_Dojo_Toolkit_with_the_Closure_Compiler.pdf?by-user=t